Last updated on April 28th, 2023 at 04:16 pm
The BBC reports that those who don’t get enough sleep (as well as those with too much) double their risk of cardiovascular disease. The article quotes research from the University of Warwick and University College London regarding death rates over two decades among over ten thousand civil servants.
The risk of heart disease doubled among those who slept just 5 hours a night compared to those on 7 hours. Interestingly, a similar increase in risk was found among those sleeping 8 or more hours each night.
Those who cut their sleeping from seven to five hours a night had twice the risk of a fatal cardiovascular problem of those who stuck to the recommended seven hours a night – and a 1.7 increased risk of death from all causes.
Researchers also linked the lack of sleep with an increased risk of weight gain, high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes. Considering most obstructive sleep apnoea patients tend to be overweight, with high blood pressure and a lot of them pre-diabetic, linking OSA wouldn’t be that far-fetched either.
Even when a sleep apnoea patients spends 7 hours in bed with his or her eyes shut, you can argue getting just 4 to 5 hours sleep effectively, taking into account the apnoea events, repeated waking up and stress on the body. Untreated obstructive sleep apnoea therefore means sub 7 hours sleep and hence double the risk of fatal cardiovascular problems.
Dr Neil Stanley, a sleep expert from Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, said while public health messages focused on diet and exercise, people were given very little information about the need to get proper amounts of sleep.
I agree wholeheartedly with Dr Stanley. Articles in main stream media like this one on the BBC website help raise awareness of sleep problems such as sleep apnoea. I hope people who recognise the symptoms and habits mentioned take pro-active action and get a sleep study done at their nearest clinic and seek suitable treatment such as Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP).
Steve Poceta from over at Revolution Health posted his views on this matter here.